The Indiana Karst Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization that has been protecting caves and karst landscapes, and educating people about the importance and unique aspects of karst since 1986.

Mission accomplished! We have reached and actually exceeded our fund-raising goal for acquiring the expansion property connecting the IKC Wayne Cave Preserve with the National Speleological Society's Richard Blenz Preserve in Monroe County. At the December IKC meeting, the Executive Board approved the $20,500 contribution to the Stewardship Endowment Fund, thus wrapping-up our $225,000 fund-raising effort! We are very grateful that Sam Shine Foundation and Central Indiana Land Trust stepped up in a huge way to make this project happen. We are also extremely pleased with the number of other granting organizations and individual donors (several who live adjacent to the preserve) who understand the importance of this property and have made large donations. And of course, we really appreciate every single dollar of our extensive number of grass roots donors and we love showing off this broad support!

The entire list of donors can be viewed here.

Orientation to Cave Rescue (OCR) May 18-19 - Registration opens at 12 noon EDT on Monday, April 1; click here to register. We will have a link here for more information on the class as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, see page 8 of IKC Update 152.

Solar Eclipse April 8 - On this date there will be a total solar eclipse across much of Indiana. The IKC will not be hosting any observing events, but some of our members may wish to view the eclipse from one of our preserves. Due to the anticipated influx of visitors and resulting traffic and emergency service impacts, we have prepared this document that anyone visiting a preserve during this time should read and follow.

Indiana Cave Symposium April 20 - Please RSVP here.

Indiana Cave Symposium Pre-Symposium Tour (afternoon of April 20) - more info and registration at IKCFieldTourApril2024.eventbrite.com.

Discovery Day at Henderson Park - Join the IKC and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) at the park to kick off our partnership and go for a hike. Pre-registration required due to parking limits. Register with TNC at bit.ly/HendersonParkDiscoveryDay.

Wyandotte Cave Tour with the IKC - followed by optional stewardship opportunity - Sunday, June 30 at 9 am EDT - More info and register at IKCFieldTourJune2024.eventbrite.com.

Winter Tree ID Hike at Shawnee Karst Preserve followed by optional stewardship opportunity - Saturday, November 9 - More info and register at IKCFieldTourNovember2024.eventbrite.com.


Join the IKC - Click the Join Us! menu item above for more information. You can pay dues on-line or by traditional mail.

Henderson Park - The IKC now manages access for the City of Salem and The Nature Conservancy to the caves within Henderson Park for recreational caving. Groups wishing to gain access need to apply for a permit. Click here for details.

Indiana DNR - The IKC manages access for the DNR to several caves within Spring Mill State Park and Cave River Valley for recreational caving. Groups wishing to gain access must apply for a permit and comply with proper WNS decontamination protocols. Click here for details.


IKC membership brochure (923k PDF file)
Back issues of the IKC Update online
Our sinkhole management flyer (321k PDF file)
Indiana Bats, Kids and Caves -- Oh My!, an activity book for teachers
Purchase IKC promo items. Proceeds go to the land acquisition fund.